Back in the late 70's and early 80's, when American distance runners were as good as any in the world, Boston was one of the epicenters. Bill Rodgers, Greg Meyer, Alberto Salazar, and dozens of others were guided to the winners podium of major races by the steady yet eclectic hand of Bill Squires, coach of the Greater Boston Athletic Club.

The successes of that Golden Age have faded, and so has Squires's legend, but as the 21st century dawns, it has been revived, first by groups like the Hansons Brooks Distance Project, which espouses many of the same principles, particularly the group training ethos, and now with the publication of Squiress first comprehensive training guide. Its his first book since the 1982 Improving Your Running, and its far more detailed, even if the underlying principles are unchanged. "This book gives you the detailed blueprint," says Squires, who felt it was time to pass on his secrets of success to the running world at large.

If you're anticipating a glossy work of literary art, you may be disappointed. The photos are black and white and some of the text could have used another trip to the proofreader (there are occasional references to unspecified pages, some of the workout mileage doesnt add up, and the grammar exhibits as many undulations as the Boston Marathon course). But Speed With Endurance is the perfect example of not judging a book by its cover.

Co-written with Bruce Lehane, a former Squires protege who has gone on to a successful coaching career at Boston University, the book is different than others, which deal mostly with principles and generalities. The meat of this book, and its raison d'etre, is the workout schedules - the same ones that brought success almost three decades ago to stars like Rodgers as well as lunch pail runners like Dick Mahoney and Scott Graham, average guys whose hard work and adherence to Squires's philosophy brought them times that would be considered national class today.

The fundamental tenet of Squires's training system is maximizing the speed one can carry over distance. To that end, the schedules have some components of speed, whether its strides, pickups, or hill repeats, in all phases, even the preliminary base-building portion, which Squires calls the Alpha Phase. This is followed by S.W.E.P. (Speed With Endurance Process), Race Specialization, and Peak Season segments.

All of these are given in detailed, diary-style workout schedules that make up the bulk of this 400-plus page book. The charts cover 21 ability levels from the beginning fitness jogger to an elite athlete. The schedules are presented in a running log format, which makes them somewhat oversized, but also allows you to make copies and write in your actual runs and comments. A total of 1,723 workouts (I take the authors figure at their word; I did not count each one) are detailed, with race-specific schedules for cross country, 5K, 10K, and the marathon.

Speed With Endurance isnt the type of book you read on a plane to pass the time. But if you want to make your time in a road race pass faster, it may be just the read you need.